Totems

The Shona people of Zimbabwe have totems, which are symbols of identity similar to clans or tribes. A totem is an animal such as the lion, elephant, zebra or monkey. Addressing someone by their totem is highly respectful and very formal. From our very first day, people have been asking us what our totems are. As foreigners, there’s the freedom to choose our own totem, but from what I understand, most people receive their totem based on their family heritage or what region they come from.

Most people assume that my totem is Shumba (lion), which seems as good a totem as any. Rochelle naturally gravitated towards Twiza (giraffe), but I’m pretty sure that the twiza isn’t actually a totem animal. But let’s keep that a secret between us and let Rochelle keep on believing…

I’m not sure how the totems fit into the traditional religion, but I’m sure they played a significant role in worship. It’s interesting that the Shona continue to have totems, even though most would consider themselves Christian. From what I’ve witnessed so far, many seem to possess a combination of both traditional African and Christian beliefs.

The chief secretary has been suggesting lately that The Salvation Army should be the totem of Salvationists. I think this is a pretty cool idea. This would be helpful for officers’ kids, as they find it difficult to have a regional or tribal home since they move around so much. Amai Commissioner (mother commissioner) is so concerned about this lack of traditional upbringing that she is discouraging the thought of marriage between officers’ kids. She says that officers’ kids are brothers and sisters, so they can’t get married. This created quite a stir in the combi ride home when the officer wives discovered that we were both officers’ kids and therefore brother and sister. But it’s all going to work out, as there’s a traditional ceremony involving a large white chicken that will make it okay for us to be married. I’ll let you know how that turns out…